The Thing with Feathers
by The Lucky Pen of Hope
Summary: This is the tale of a young woman whose soul was consumed in Despair and Death itself acted as her shadow—at least until a small bird sees something in her heart, and sings his wordless song. Will the small bird be able to heal the wounds in her heart, or will Death claim him and the rest of the world? Pre-game AU school life focusing on the relationship between Naegi and Mukuro.
1. An (Un)Lucky Meeting?

In the classic Greek myth of Pandora's Box, great suffering was brought to the world by a woman opening the titular box and unleashing every despair and evil that mankind would ever know, however, at the bottom of the box, unabashed by the evils that it had been sheltered with, something greater than all the collective ills and evil combined emerged: Hope.

But what if the story had a different ending? What if, instead, when Pandora opened the Box, it was Hope that escaped first and prevented evil from sweeping across the world?

This is not the story of what happened to the sixteen students of the 78th class of Hope's Peak academy; nor is this the story of the world outside the school's fortress-like walls , consumed by the anarchy and suffering brought on by global despair. This isn't even a "What If?" about if a certain young man, whose only talent was his uncanny luck, regaining the memories that had been stolen from him and preventing the bloody tragedy that would befall his fellow classmates.

This story tells instead a "what if?"

In the year 1775, colonists settled in what would come to one day be known as the United States of America. The colonials rebelled against both the crown and government of Great Britain. The feud, originally started over what was perceived as unfair taxation in the eyes of the colonists, would last for over a bitter and bloody decade before the rebels would ultimately come to be recognized as an independent and sovereign nation that would one day become one of the world's greatest military super powers.

On June 18, 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand would be the spark that ignited the volatile political and military tension that had overtaken Europe, introducing the entire planet to a concept that would come to be recognized as the World War, which would claim thousands of lives on all sides and lay the foundation for World War II.

On August 6th, 1945, at the twilight of the second World War, the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima; followed three days later by another nuclear weapon being deployed against the city of Nagasaki. These would be the only two nuclear weapons ever deployed in warfare, and they would be largely credited with the ending of World War II, and opening Pandora's Box and unleashing the looming threat of nuclear weapons upon the world as a whole.

These are simply some of the events that have changed the world, and there were many more such events proceeding and following them. The commonality between most of the events is that the pages of history are most often written in blood.

But while this is a story of how the world was changed, it is one of how it was changed for the better—or, at the very least, kept from becoming more bloodstained. While it is true that often great acts of violence leave their bloody mark upon history, the world can indeed be changed without the the spilling of blood.

Changing the world need not require something so grand as the establishment of a new nation, the sparking of a world-spanning war, or the unleashing of weapons so great it would come to be feared that they may spell the very end of the world itself in time.

Sometimes the world can be changed by something so common as a stranger offering a kind smile to a stranger or a willing ear to listen and ease the despair within someone hearts. The world can be changed a simple random act of kindness done for a stranger, for no other reason than to help someone in need.

The world can be changed even by something so small and fragile as a single feather...

* * *

_Mr. Makoto Naegi_

_We recently held a lottery to select or ordinary student to attend our school_

_As a result, you have been selected, and we invite you to join us as the __**Ultimate Lucky Student**__._

_Included is an orientation guide for Hope's Peak Academy_

_ Sincerely,  
Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy  
Jin Kirigiri_

The youth in question tore his gaze from the letter that had arrived in the mail several days earlier, still not able to believe that he had been accepted to the legendary Hope's Peak Academy, and returned his gaze once more towards the glow of his computer screen. A number of tabs were open on his internet browser, ranging from message boards to articles or videos, but the common theme among them all was that they pertained to the many "Ultimates" that were enrolled at Hope's Peak Academy, both current students and graduates alike.

Makoto was, of course, aware that Sayaka Maizono, a girl whom he had previously attended school with, had gained admittance as the "Ultimate Pop Sensation," as was befitting her status as an idol of her level of fame. The lucky youth never had the chance to become acquainted with the gir—much to his regret—but he hoped to be able to do so when he enrolled.

He was aware of other students, such as Leon Kuwata the "Ultimate Baseball Star," a youth who was already being scouted by professional sports teams and Aoi Asahina the "Ultimate Swimming Pro," the rumored shoe-in to represent Japan in the Olympics, if rumors in the media and online were to be believed. Even the "Ultimate Writing Prodigy" Toko Fuakawa was someone he had heard of before—or at least he knew of her bestselling novels that had earned her that title.

He had also learned of the more esoteric talents being selected to attend the illustrious school, such as an "Ultimate Clairvoyant" who was apparently a fortune-teller or an individual who seemed lead Japan's largest biker gang. Still though, there were some students who would be among his classmates that he could only find rumors on and little in terms of background or personal information, such as the "Ultimate Gambler" or the rumors that an "Ultimate Detective" was to enroll this semester.

As his eyes skimmed over an article on the famed teen fashion model Junko Enoshima, Makoto's heart nearly stopped in fright when he felt the weight of a pair of hands suddenly upon his shoulders and a voice chirp inches from his ear, "Oh!" the voice trilled in his ear. "Looking at risqué photos, big brother? Naughty, naughty!" it sang-song with a gleeful lilt.

Eyes wide, Makoto whirled around in his chair to see his younger sister grinning widely at him, looking entirely too pleased with the reaction she had received from her elder sibling. "Komaru!" Makoto said, his voice containing a clear but exasperated hint of reproach in it as he clutched at his heart, hammering suddenly against his rib cage. "How many times have I told you not to do that?" he asked, letting out a sigh of resignation; this was an event that had happened many times before and would happen many times in the future, Makoto was certain. HIs sister simply kicked her legs from where she had perched herself on his bed, smiling at him with no remorse on her face.

"I can't seem to recall," she said happily, giggling a little; her attention turned towards the blonde displayed on her brother's screen. "I didn't know you had such exotic tastes, big bro!" said, eyeing the fashion model's bright blonde hair and risqué attire. "I know her," Komaru commented, hopping off the bed and leaning over her brother's shoulder to get a closer look at the model she had seen gracing the cover of and in the pages of so many of the magazines she and her female classmates liked to read. "That's Junko Enoshima! Is she going to be one of your classmates?" Komaru asked, turning to stare at her brother.

Makoto nodded, clicking the mouse to minimize the window and display some of the other open tabs he had. "Yeah, she's the 'Ultimate Fashionista'," he explained, and then gestured with his mouse over to the various images of the other teenage celebrities he had found; his sister's eyes widened as she recognized most of the people on the screen. "Truth be told," Makoto admitted, "I'm a little nervous. I mean, I'm attending this famous school with so many amazing people, and I . . . well, I'm just _me_," he said with a sigh.

Komaru glared at her brother, her cheeks puffing in a slight pout. She didn't hesitate as her hand darted out to pinch one of his cheeks none too gently between two fingers, electing a cry of shock and pain from him. "I'm the only one allowed to insult you," she scolded him, giving one final sharp tug on his cheek before releasing her hold, causing him to rub at the assaulted area while giving her a dour look.

"It's true, though," Makoto said, turning his gaze back to multitude of famous and successful teenagers—so unlike him. "They're all so talented and famous, while I'm only lucky," he told her, and then frowned. "I'm not even certain that being 'lucky' is such a good thing," he muttered, recalling the events of the day that he had received his letter; it had by far been the worst day of his life: he had lost a bet, been forced into an errand, held hostage, and been indirectly responsible for two cases of vehicular property damage.

"You're luck is pretty rotten," Komaru said with a frown; her big brother somehow losing one of his shoes was a common occurrence whenever he went out, despite how unlikely such a thing seemed. "But still!" she said, giving his a sharp stare. "Who are and what have you done with my brother!" she demanded. "My big brother does have pretty horrible luck, but he always looks on the bright side of things!"

Makoto blinked at his sister, and he soon found a smile forcing its way onto his face as his pessimistic thoughts were banished by her confidence in him. "I guess you're right," he said, giving her a bright smile. "My luck may have gotten me into Hope's Peak, but I'm certain I'll be able to show everyone there that I deserve to be as much as any of the other Ultimate students!" he declared, his voice resolute—and as simple as that, all the doubts he had harbored were swept away in a tide of Hope.

"There's my big brother!" Komaru cheered, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck! "You'll show them all what you're made of! I have faith in you! I also have faith that you'll get me these autographed!" she suddenly segued into her cheer leading, thrusting a magazine with Junko Enoshima gracing the cover and the debut novel authored by Toko Fukawa that made the author famous.

Makoto stared at the two pieces of literature and then to his sister, who smiled unabashed at him without a hint of shame. "Of course," she said deadpan, though his expression was anything but as his smile simply grew at his little sisters antics.

"I knew you would!" Komaru said. "Because my big brother is the best brother in the world!" she declared, folding her arms across her chest and nodding her head.

Makoto Naegi only laughed, and for the rest of the night, the Naegi resident was filled with the sound of merriment as two siblings enjoyed one another's company.

Not far from the joyous household of the lucky student, in a nondescript building, a girl sat alone upon a futon in an apartment. The furnishings of the dwelling were Spartan, and there was little of personal effects except for a framed picture of what appeared to a younger version of the girl smiling happily alongside a redheaded girl who shared remarkably similar features.

The rose tinted light of the day's twilight filtered between the blinds of the rooms only window, highlighting an acceptance letter to Hope's Peak academy that laid opened besides a stack of magazines dedicated to teen fashion, all bearing the visage of Junko Enoshima upon the cover.

The nearby wall closet was opened, revealing a number of school uniforms on wire hangers all lined up in a row, with what appeared to be a rather large industrial footlocker with a combination lock beneath them. Upon the lid of the locker was what appeared be the silhouetted profile of a wolf's head against an eight-pointed star, the word "Fenrir" printed beneath in English.

The emblem was duplicated in dark ink across the backside of the girl's right hand, a stark contrast to her otherwise pale and unblemished skin.

Raising from her futon, the girl moved with a preternatural grace and fluidity, not making a single noise as she walked over to gaze at the picture frame from its place near the magazines on the desk. The girl gazed silently at the image of the past, not saying anything as her blue eyes stared at the happy smiling face of her sister. How full of joy her sister had been, before despair had taken over and consumed her very being. Her finger traced with curve of the smile upon the redhead in a manner that was almost wistful.

"I'll be with you again soon, sister," the girl said softly, her eyes going to the stack of magazines before quickly shifting focus to the letter.

_Ms. Mukuro Ikusaba_

_We are pleased at your acceptance to attend Hope's Peak Academy as the __**Ultimate Solider**__._

_Enclosed is an orientation guide for Hope's Peak Academy, and we look forward to you attending with us at the beginning of the new semester._

_We understood that you have been overseas for some time, and would like to offer an assistance that we can in helping you acclimating in your return to Japan._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Hope's Peak Academy Steering Committee._

* * *

Makoto Naegi ran faster than he had ever ran in his life.

Today was the first day of his high school life and the start of the new semester at Hope's Peak Academy...so, of course, his alarm clock had not awoken him when he had set it to, and then due to a miscommunication, his transportation had dropped him off several blocks from where it was supposed to, forcing him into levels of physical activity that he had previously only forced himself to endure on physical evaluation days in his previous school years.

At least he hadn't lost one of his shoes...though knowing his luck, it wouldn't be too long now before that happened.

His blood pounded in his own airs as he gasped for breath, feeling the ache in his oxygen starved muscles as they protested the continue use far beyond what they were usually subjected to in terms of physical activity, but he paid them no heed.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, and his acceptance letter was snatched from his grasp and carried aloft by the rogue breeze. Eyes widening in horror, Naegi somehow managed to move his legs even faster despite that his legs felt ready to give way beneath him, their bones feeling as if they had been turned to jelly.

His eyes tracked the letter as it rose and fell upon the wind that had spirited it away from his grasp, not paying attention to where he was going. Finally, the paper descended to a level where he could grab it, and not wasting his chance, he gave a final burst of adrenaline-fueled speed from his beleaguered feet and managed to swipe the document from the air.

However, he found himself overbalanced from the attempt and his shoes could not find the traction to arrest his momentum as began to be carried into oncoming traffic at crosswalk, and a rather large truck was speeding ever closer into what would undoubtedly be the student's path.

Suddenly, though, he was taking off his feet as a force forcibly pulled him back away from his potential demise. Landing sprawled on the sidewalk, Naegi stared with wide eyes at a girl staring down at him expressionlessly, her blue eyes standing out among her pale face, framed on either side by raven hair. He blinked, meeting her gaze but unable to say anything, robbed of breath as he was; his letter was clenched tightly in a white-knuckle grip, wrinkling the official letterhead it was printed on.

"Are you uninjured?" the girl asked in an emotionless tone, her gaze seeming to pierce right through him. Naegi stared for several moments and did not answer, and the girl continued to stare silently at him; swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Makoto managed to nod his head. "I see," she said, and held out her right hand to him in an offer of assistance. Blinking, the Ultimate Lucky (Unlucky?) Student took her hand, noting how strong her grip was and how rough the numerous calluses that had formed on it. Once he was on his feet, the girl withdrew her hand and stared at him. "You should be more cautious in the future," she advised, before crossing the street now that the sign informed her that it was safe to do so.

Naegi stared at the retreating back of the girl who had saved him, too shocked to say anything. Glancing down he saw his reclaimed acceptance letter clenched tightly in his fist and started in realization, hurrying on his way towards his first day to what he was certain would be the rest of his life.

It was only after he had watched her vanish that he realized that he hadn't even thanked her for saving his life. Frowning as he internally berated his own rudeness and lack of gratitude, he went to traverse the crosswalk (making certain to check either direction first,) and it was then that he felt a multitude of objects beneath his right foot.

Without even having to luck down, he already knew that he had lost his right shoe in the prior excitement—again. Sighing the student who was supposedly the Ultimate Lucky Student cast his gaze about for his missing footwear.

* * *

_Author's Note: Hello, fellow Danganronpa fans, the idea for this story struck me after coming across a translation of the alternate Danganronpa IF online, and I thought that it was a wonderful premise, and that the character of Mukuro Ikusaba was wonderful and that her fate in the original game was utterly tragic after learning of her character in the supplementary novel. Just as IF focused on the relationship between Naegi and Mukuro, so shall this "what IF" fan fiction-I will freely admit: I ship this couple, I ship them like FedEx ships packages. How could I not after reading IF? However, this story will focus on their relationship, how it forms and how it affects the other classmates of the 78th class of Hope's Peak. Characters from the Zero prequel novels will make appearance and influence how the world might avoid the sad fate it meets in the cannon universe, or perhaps be left a better off it such a calamity can't be avoided. I suppose you'll just have to read and see, won't you?_

_Reviews and feedback are appreciated and will help me greatly as I write this._


	2. Watch Out Boy, Here She Comes!

At the front of the gymnasium, Jin Kirigiri gripped the podium as he delivered the introductory speech, looking down from his vantage point upon the stage and taking in the newest group of students who would one day become the hope for not only their nation's future, but also the world itself. For the occasion, the headmaster saw that a number of the new students had chosen to wear the official school uniforms that had been provided to them—indeed, though not wearing the official one of the school, Kiyotaka Ishimaru stood at attention in a uniform that was so pristine and white that it risked being almost blindingly so—but many choose to wear whatever they felt most comfortable in, as was their prerogative as a member of the main school of Hope's Peak Academy. He suddenly noted his own daughter staring impassively up at him with an expression befitting her awarded title of Ultimate Detective, and it was all that the father could do to not falter in his speech, to see his own beloved child regard him with such chilly indifference, even though he had entered the gymnasium fully expecting such.

_ Memories of a small girl, laughing joyfully as she was held aloft in her father's embrace during a pleasant afternoon in the garden flashed through the man's mind; the memory forever captured behind framed glass on the desk in his office._

Pausing for the briefest of moments, he closed his eyes and took a breath through his nose to collect his momentarily scattered thoughts. Among her fellow classmates, Kyoko's poker face wavered ever so slightly: the corners of her mouth descended ever so slightly as she saw her father's actions; however, she quickly dismissed her concern for the man upon the podium. No other students noted the slight falter in the headmaster's speech, except perhaps for the dark haired young woman standing with perfect military posture near the back of the hall-but if she did, she made no indication.

Jin seamlessly continued on, tearing his gaze from his only child and turning his inspection upon the other new students that were in attendance. Unsurprisingly, Mondo Owado, as was befitting of his title as the Ultimate Bike Gang Leader, was clad in his signature biker jacket that proclaimed to all the world that he was leader of the infamous Crazy Diamond biker gang, with a white muscle shirt beneath, and he seemed to regard the whole ceremony with a degree of passive-aggressive boredom. Byakuya Togami (whose attendance at Hope's Peak Academy was, in all honesty, less a matter of him being talented, and more the fact that he had just about the entire world in his pocket, due to his position) seemed to also view the ordeal as a waste of his time, but unlike Mondo, he was clad in a pristine suit that Jin was quite certain that he himself would not ever be able to afford, even with the rather generous salary afforded to him as the head of the academy.

Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, wore an unbuttoned gray cardigan over his shirt-the headmaster wasn't certain that the cardigan was even _capable_ of being buttoned over the boy's rather round frame-and next to him, offering a stark contrast, was a shockingly pale girl with a smile upon her face that reminded the headmaster of the Cheshire Cat from _Alice in Wonderland_, only without any teeth. In fact, she brought to mind a more darker, gothic version of Alice or perhaps one of the brides from Bram Stoker's _Dracula_. Something he was sure that Taeko Yasushiro (though she insisted on her pseudonym of Celestia Ludenberg,) the Ultimate Gambler, who was known in the underground and illegal gambling rings as the "Queen of Liars," was quite deliberate on her own part.

Naturally, the headmaster's gaze switched from gambling to another student related to the subject. For how could anyone think of gambling and not bring to mind the role that luck plays in such an endeavor? It was the first time that Jin Kirigiri has laid eyes upon Makoto Naegi, the winner of this year's lottery, and he immediately took in the boy's rather average appearance and short stature, noting that he seemed to have nothing distinguishing about him save for his jacket (that was far too similar to the favored jacket of the previous Ultimate Lucky Student, and the headmaster bitterly hoped that this one was nowhere near the same amount of frustration and grief that the previous one had been.) Truly, Makoto Naegi seemed to already be at risk of being lost among and trampled by his fellow talented classmates, but the headmaster hoped not-staring at the bright hopeful smiling face of the lad, Jin Kirigiri was struck by something he couldn't quite place his finger upon but was forced to acknowledge, all the same.

The oldest student in attendance was Yasuhiro Hagakure, who shouldn't technically be considered a student in any high school anywhere by his age of eighteen. The Ultimate Clairvoyant didn't seem to be entirely there (in all manners of the word,) and was staring intently into what the headmaster could only assume was a crystal ball. Well, at least he was actively earning the title that had been granted to him. Next, Jin's eyes roved over Leon Kuwata, and had he not known that the individual was the holder of the title of Ultimate Baseball Star, he would have mistaken his talent as having to do with one of the louder form's of music from the many piercings, ostentatious jewelry, and general rock star-like demeanor he was affecting.

The two other media sensations that were in attendance couldn't be more different if they tried. Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation, was a sweet and demure girl who seemed to epitomize the wholesome girl-next-door archetype; Junko Enoshima on the other hand, was as flashy as one would expect a model awarded the title of Ultimate Fashionista to be, with her artificial blonde hair pulled into twin pig tails, obvious use of makeup, and a shirt that displayed a rather generous bust for a girl her age-though the amount displayed skirted the edges of being a uniform violation in itself.

Next to fall under the quick and careful gaze the attentive dark haired girl standing near the back with rather impressive posture. She seemed to be paying the utmost attention to his words, though her eyes constantly swept over the other students, assessing them, and she seemed possessed of a barely restrained energy that seemed to lurk just beneath the surface, ready to explode into action at the slightest hint of danger. Appropriate for the Ultimate Soldier who had traversed scores of battlefields all over the world with a single injury or scar to show for the ordeal. Mukuro Ikusaba seemed to be regarding the tallest of her classmates with most scrutiny, having no doubt declared that individual the largest threat among the group.

Said individual was a towering colossus of what appeared to be raw, bulging muscles barely contained in a school uniform of some kind. Most people would not even (and often did not) realize that they were looking at a member of the female gender-who possessed the title of the Strongest Person in the World: Sakura Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist. Truthfully, Jin Kirigiri did not know which of the two would come out the victor in a fight: the Ultimate Soldier, who had never suffered an injury, or the Ultimate Martial Artist, who was the inheritor to title of the Strongest Person in the World-and who Jin Kirigiri know could punch through solid metal like it was tissue paper.

He hoped for the sake of Hope's Peak Academy, that the two woman never decided they wanted to find out.

He was quite pleased at the attendance of Aoi Asahina, an Olympic-hopeful who swam through water as well as-and most likely better than any mermaid. Said girl was listening to his speech attentively with a bright smile upon her face, though she did occasionally take in her fellow classmates with an undisguised level of open enthusiasm and awe-especially Sakura.

The final two students seemed to the most reclusive of the sixteen new students. The two "girls"-for Jin Kirigiri still had not decided how to handle interacting with one of them, despite what his gender must be listed as for the official records of the school-seemed extremely ill at ease being surrounded by so many other people.

The said confusing student was a small and meek individual who had not raised his gaze from the wooden floor of the gymnasium, as if afraid to meet the gaze of any of the other students and draw their attention to himself. Chihiro Fujisaki was indeed a boy, though anyone would be hard-pressed to know this fact from the attire he dressed himself in and the manner he carried himself with. The Ultimate Programmer chose to mask the gender of his birth by clothing himself in woman's school uniform (something his small, feminine frame lent itself to well,) and had been doing so for a number of years previously before enrolling in this school. The headmaster cared not about his students chose to dress, instead focusing on what they could offer to the academy and the world at large once they graduated-and he was certain that the boy in front of him would one day would bring about a technological revolution the world had never seen.

The last student seemed to be absolutely miserable to be in attendance. Many people in Japan knew of the literary genius that was Toko Fukawa, but few would believe that the pasty skinned girl who endlessly tugged at one of the sleeves of uniform was the award-winning author. The Ultimate Writing Prodigy seemed to uncomfortable in her very skin, her eyes rapidly darting about, a sneer upon her face as she regarded everyone else in attendance, and all the while the fingers of her free hand clenched and danced in wild spasms, as if holding or operating some phantom device that was not there but the appendage believed should be.

jin Kirigiri knew very well the dark secret that Toko Fukawa hid behind her meek demeanor, and even now he cursed himself for bowing to the demands of the board of directors on the matter. Doubtless there were many other young authors who were deserving of the title of Ultimate Writing Prodigy, but none of them gave Hope's Peak Academy a two-for-one package deal by doubling as the Ultimate Murderous Fiend as well.

Indeed, Yasuka Matsuhada, Hope Peak's own Ultimate Neurologist had compiled a through psych evaluation of Toko Fukawa and, with supporting evidence of the Genocide Jack case file that Hopes Peak academy had in their possession due to their influence, had concluded near beyond a doubt that the girl standing below him was in fact the infamous mass serial killer Genocide Jack.

Or, perhaps Genocide Jill would be more appropriate, given the facts.

And really, why the hell did the board demand to have the Ultimate Murderous Fiend in enrollment, anyway!? It's not like the academy could brag about such a fact to increase its standing and potential funding! He was quite certain that at this point that the old men were consumed by their own delusions of grandeur and it had become an obsession to collect Ultimate students, regardless of their utility or the wisdom of doing so.

And they had the nerve to doubt him when he insisted on having an Ultimate Lucky Student attend ever year. At least luck had real world applications-unlike serial killing, that didn't have any legal ones, at any rate. Though he was certain that the Ultimate Yakuza would be interested in Ms. Fukawa if he ever discovered her secret.

He would have to get the Ultimate Body Guard and the Ultimate Secret Agent to keep tabs on her; he was certain that Isshiki Madarai and Yoto Kamishiro would be able to handle the task (in fact, Toko Fukawa wouldn't even notice the later.)

Sighing internally, he noted with interest that the Ultimate Soldier seemed to have her gaze locked onto Toko; if Mukuro were a rattlesnake, he was certain her tail would shaking about like it was having a seizure, a clear warning that if Genocide decided to establish itself as a threat, then she would be dealt with-permanently.

Jin Kirigiri found himself smiling. Truthfully, knowing that Jill was under such close watch by someone who could-and would-handle the problem should it, in fact, become a problem, was a balm to his worried mind. Mukuro was the Ultimate Soldier, after all: all he had to do was give a suggestion (an order) for her to look out for her classmates, and he knew the girl would not hesitate.

He glanced towards Junko Enoshima as he finished off his speech. For being twins, the two girls couldn't be any less alike, he reflected.

* * *

Mukuro took in the words of her headmaster, but all the while she kept her gaze on nervous girl. She had initially determined that Sakura Ogami would be the biggest threat among them, followed by Mondo Owada, but that had been on the dossiers she had reviewed previously and obviously her intelligence had been incomplete on one student, possibly more.

The Ultimate Soldier easily saw what the girl hid beneath her normal facade, but wasn't sure if it was a willful act of deception or not. Regardless, killer identified killer and saw her for what she was, and her mind began analyzing her surroundings, those in proximity, and what she had on her person in an effort to best determine how to quickly kill her, should it prove necessary.

She immediately came up over a number of guaranteed fatalities: a swift twist of the neck, enough to disengage the vertebrae-less than ten seconds. Crush her larynx with a single swift blow-seven seconds. Drive the cartilage of Toko Fukawa's nose into her brain with a single palm-strike-four seconds. Break all four limbs and shatter rib cage-twelve seconds to accomplish, but death, while assured, would take longer.

After that, her fellow classmates may intervene, or even before hand if any of them detected her plan, but only Sakura Ogami could stand any chance of stopping her.

However, to do so now would endanger her beloved little sister's plan and everything that she, Mukuro Ikusaba, had set up in the last dozen years during her worldwide tour of service with the mercenary group Fenrir.

Not to mention that there was a chance that Junko could come to harm, even if that chance was less than five percent. That was five percent too high, and even a single scratch on her younger sister would be considered mission failure.

Toko Fukawa would live, Mukuro decided, taking her gaze from the reclusive girl even before the headmaster had finished saying the few reaming words of his sentence.

All around her, the students broke into conversation, getting to know one another. She noted how Ultimate Swimmer immediately gravitated towards the Ultimate Martial Artist, greeting her with no reservation and undisguised friendliness in her voice and face, mush to the fighter's seeming shock. Leon Kuwata, strangely enough, immediately seemed to turn his attention to Sayaka Maizono for some reason; he appeared to say several things that Mukuro could not hear, but when the singer only giggled behind a hand, his expression fell into dejection.

The young man in the jacket-the same lad who she had saved earlier-seemed to regard the interaction between the athlete and singer with disapproval for some reason, but Mukuro had no idea why; the intricacies of normal high school interaction were a mystery to her, despite all the research she had done in her apartment, in preparation. She knew nothing of the young boy, but she could easily summarize that he was this class's Ultimate Lucky Student-a title she doubted very much from what she had seen of him.

Still, despite being a wild card, Mukuro was certain that they brown haired boy was no threat to either herself, her little sister, or their plans-he was unique in that he seemed to possess absolutely no hostile intentions in at all, that she could read. It was as if he was physically and psychologically incapable of even considering the fact of harming another living creature. She had no doubt he would be lucky to survive even a day in a battlefield, or even simply on the streets, where the law of the jungle was king and it was every man and woman for his or herself.

Truthfully, he reminded Mukuro of a bird: so tiny, his attention darted from student to student in awe, a bright smile on his face as he chirped greetings to each of them, seemingly ignorant that more than one of them seemed to want nothing to do with either him or any of their other classmates at all. She even remembered how light he was when she pulled him away from the street-maybe his bones really were hollow like a birds?

And, he had spotted her and his face had lit in pure joy. Why was he happy, Mukuro wondered. More pertinently, why was he approaching her with such a large smile on his face?

"Hello!" he greeted, and before Mukuro knew it, he was upon her. She found this quite strange: in the battlefields she could make split-second life-and-death decisions, and yet she was indecisive to the point of uselessness before this small boy. School life was indeed far more dangerous and complicated than any war, Mukuro thought to herself. "I never got the chance to thank you!" the brown haired suddenly said, immediately bowing deeply at his waist.

Mukuro blinked, staring at him in bewilderment. Why was he thanking her? "I don't understand," she eventually said, staring at him intently.

The boy looked up at him, an expression Mukuro had a hard time identifying on his face-then she recalled where she had seen it before: on the awestruck faces of the masses of her sister's fans. She suddenly felt intensely uncomfortable, and she shifted one foot ever so slightly in unease.

"You saved my life," he told her. "I would have been hit by that vehicle if you hadn't pulled me back!" he exclaimed. "Thank you!" he said again, this time reaching out and clasping her hands earnestly in his tiny ones.

Mukuro was so shocked, she did not instinctively break his wrist in multiple places. She looked down at her hand in his and then to his face: it displayed nothing but honest and sincere gratitude. She didn't know how to handle this; in Fenrir, she did her duty because it was expected of her, and as such gratitude and praise were almost entirely unknown to the soldier.

She was in uncharted territory.

"...It's fine," she finally said, and wondered why she had not removed her hand from his. She had destroyed the bodies of men three times the size and strength of this small boy, and yet she somehow couldn't reclaim her hand from him.

Her commanding officer would give her such a dressing down if he ever found out.

"My name is Makoto Naegi!" he introduced to her, seeming to not be aware of the conflict that he was causing insider her mind. At least, she thought, she knew what to do with introductions.

"Mukuro Ikusaba," she returned with no emotion, and then, after a pause, recalled her long unused conversational skills. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Makoto," she said politely, immediately realizing her faux pas of using his first name, which was a habit she had gotten into from when she had conversed with her largely compatriots in Fenrir.

"I'm pleased to meet you, as well, Ikusaba!" Naegi chirped, either not noticing, or not caring, or her use of his first name. "I hope we become good friends!"

This shocked the soldier enough that she let some of her confusion slip through the mask of the consummate professionalism she wore so often. Friend? He wanted to be her friend? Why? She had saved his life, but that was because he was a civilian-hardly a reason to want to be her friend. What should she do? Should she accept? Junko would know; maybe she should ask her. The Ultimate Solder's thoughts raced about, and all the while Naegi stared up at her face with honest admiration and hope, ignorant of the storm of conflicting thoughts and emotions his innocent question had caused in the normally collected soldier.

Before she could respond however. she heard a bright, bubbly voice interrupt her thoughts. "Well, well!" it crowed, and Mukuro paled ever so slightly at the sound of her beloved baby sister's voice. "You're quite the little Casanova, aren't ya!" Junko said, skipping over as she noticed the small boy talking to her sister. "Honestly, I wouldn't have pegged you for the type. but it just goes to show you can't judge a magazine from its cover-unless I'm on it, of course!" the fashionista declared with a photo-worthy smile, playfully flashing the peace sign in celebration.

"Ms. Enoshima?" Naegi said, letting go of Mukuro's hand, who immediately returned it to her side as if it had been burned, and proceeded to clench and unclench it in a fist.

"Oh, please!" Junko declared, slinking besides the smaller boy and draping her arm over his shoulder, nearly causing him to collapse to his knees as he suddenly found himself supporting a large amount of the fashion model's weight as she pressed down heavily on him. Though she was smiling at him, Naegi couldn't shake the sudden unexplained sense of dream he felt overcome him when he saw her wide, tooth filled grin-it reminded him of a shark. "Since you seem to putting the moves so expertly on my big sis, here I think we can do without formalities!" she declared. "Call me Junko!"

Naegi blinked and looked towards Mukuro, who was quite stone-faced at the whole ordeal. He swallowed and ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips. "I-if you say so, Junko..." he said uncertainly. "My name is Makoto Naegi," he offered in return.

"I do say so!" Junko said with nod, folding her arms beneath her chest, hiking her breasts up in a manner that the Ultimate Lucky Student wasn't quite certain was not intentional. Then her words registered in his mind.

"Wait?" he asked, blinking in shock and quickly looking from Junko to Mukuro with wide eyes. "Twins?" he wondered.

"Of course!" Junko exclaimed. "Mukuro here is my twin sister! Couldn't you tell?" she asked, removing herself from Naegi (much to his relief) and quickly darting to the side of her sister. "Can't you see the family resemblance?" she asked in shock. Naegi thought it best it say nothing; to him, the two girls were as different as night and day. "Granted, my dear big sis isn't quite as stacked as me," she suddenly declared, slipping behind Mukuro and suddenly groping her sisters breasts, lifting them slightly as to display the fact.

Naegi turned scarlet to the roots of his hear and quickly averted his gaze; Mukuro made an odd strangled noise in the back of her throat, her eyes wide.

"But that's only because of all the muscle she puts on," Junko continued, releasing one hand to slide it down her sister's firm back and cup one of the cheeks hidden behind her skirt.. She dropped her chin on her sister's shoulder, still molesting her as she suddenly turned a predatory expression on the shorter boy. "But then again, so you seem like the type to like a girl to take charge, don't you Naegi?" she cooed. "I mean, I get it!" she assured him. "You're confident enough to think you can land a piece of prime Grade A meat like myself, so you go after Junko-lite!" she declared, and let go of one of her sister's rear to give him a flamboyant thumbs up over her sisters other shoulder, smiling widely like the cat who had caught the canary.

Naegi was certain he had never been so mortified in his so-far brief life. Certainly, his sister had taken unholy glee in the God-given right that was granted to little sisters to become the bane of their older brother's existence, and teased him for her amusement, but Junko Enoshima was something on a whole new level of sibling embarrassment that, previously, he could have never even fathomed exited.

"T-that's not true!" Naegi protested, and his face felt as if all the blood in it as boiling just beneath the skin.

"Oh, look, Mukuro!" Junko cooed, much the same way that someone cooed at a tiny animal or a baby. "He's blushing!" she sounded thrilled; before he could react, she had somehow appeared in front of him. "I could just eat him up!" and she punctuated this statement by darting her head forward much like a snake going for the kill, snapping perfectly white teeth close enough to one of his ears that the resounding slam of the twin rows of enamel was deafening.

"Well, I suppose I approve..." Junko said, and Naegi wasn't quite certain how she was suddenly away several feet way from when he was certain he had not taken his panicked gaze off of the fashion model. "As long you promise to share your toy with your cute little sister," Junko finished, directing the sentence towards Mukuro.

Mukuro stiffened; she easily picked up on the implied threat veiled in the honeyed words, and she forced the lump that had formed in throat down, where it seemed to take up residence in her pounding heart. However, Junko merrily skipped off, waving wildly over her shoulder. "Well have fun, you two!" she called. "And remember to use protection! Becoming an aunt would absolutely kill my image, ya know!" she called.

Mukuro did not say anything, though she felt her face heating up, and Naegi feared that he might explode any moment. He was well aware that Junko's final words had drawn the attention of the remainder of his classmates, and that rumors would be circulating before the day was out.

Naegi thought he heard the rather rotund boy cry out something about him "tripping an event flag" and possibly "starting down the harem route." The quite serious looking youth in the white uniform loudly declared something about "inappropriate conduct," and the bespectacled girl who had kept to herself seemed to be muttering furiously to herself, but Naegi thought he might he might have heard her hiss the word "slut." The delinquent muttered something about how "he didn't think the little shit had the balls"-he sounded impressed, honestly.

He was quickly beginning to suspect that despite Hope's Peak Academy's mythical reputation among the outside world, that a standard's of physiological evaluation required to enroll as an Ultimate required one to be out of their minds. Or on drugs. Honestly, it could be both.

"So..." he began awkwardly, playing with the zipper of his jacket. "You're sister isn't what I expected..."

Mukuro was silent for several moments, and Naegi was about to look to her when she finally spoke up. "She is quite the practical joker when you get to know her," she said lamely.

Naegi let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. Several seconds of awkward silence followed (though, he noted, at least the rest of their classmates had returned to talking among themselves and making introductions,) and then quickly quelled any lingering embarrassment he that was still lingering and asked Mukuro again.

"Y-you haven't answered me..." he told her, hoping he was not being too forward-though after what she was just subjected too, he doubted that he anything he did short of overt sexual harassment could ever be considered forward, in comparison.

"Answered what?" Mukuro asked, having returned to her ramrod posture; she did worry at the hem of her skirt, though.

"If you'll be my friend," Naegi said, and all of the girl's nervous gestures ceased to exist. After what seemed to be an eternity, he was answered.

"If you wish," Mukuro said simply, and was immediately taken off guard when Naegi grinned at her so brightly.

"Thank you, Ikusaba!" Naegi nearly gushed. "I was so worried that I would be all alone coming here!" he exclaimed. "I mean, I don't really have a talent," he admitted. "I was just chosen in a lottery, so L guess you could say that I'm lucky?" he wondered, but then brightened. "But now I have you for a friend! Thank you so much!"

It took Mukuro a few seconds to realize that she was smiling ever so slightly, and she when she did, she banished if from her face as if it had never existed. "It is fine," she dismissed, wanting the strange boy to drop the matter, and, if she was lucky, go somewhere else.

Naegi flashed her a smile one final time before turning to regard the other classmates with new-found trepidation. Undoubtedly they were even gossiping about what Junko had declared-including Sayaka. He sighed; reintroducing himself had become much more difficult. But, as he walked to introduce himself further to his classmates, looking over his shoulder at the Mukuro, standing silently with perfect posture as she observed them all, he had a feeling that it was worth it.

* * *

The sun had long since set, and the LED display of the clock on the table besides her bed told her that it was now past ten at night, and that it was officially considered night time by Hope's Peak Academy standards.

Mukuro had finished packing her belongings into dorm room she had been given; to her minimalist survivalist mindset, the admittedly plus accommodations was the height of needless opulence, but she did not make any complaints.

As she pulled back the covers and slipped beneath them clad only one of her old Fenrir uniform tops and pair of black cotton panties, she stared unblinking at the ceiling, and thoughts of a brown-haired boy entered her mind. She had feared that her younger sister would pay her visit at some point to make her displeasure known, but she must have been busy.

If Mukuro was lucky, Junko would forget or choose to overlook the incident into the gym.

As the Ultimate Soldier closed her eyes and went to sleep with the practice and ease of someone who learned to sleep anywhere and anytime such a luxury was afforded to them, she found one final thought enter her mind that would linger in her dreams.

And so, her dreams were filled with a brown bird, so small and fragile; yet the feathered thing sang boldly a tune that, while lacking words, spoke of friendship and something that the soldier had not known for many years, if she had ever known it at all.

Come morning, when she awoke, the dream and the tuneless song it had brought with it would be forgotten, buried deep in her heart, beneath the loneliness and despair that had consumed her life for so long.

* * *

_Author's Note: Here is the second chapter! My goal with this chapter was explore the thoughts and try to establish a feel for the for the character and mannerisms of the characters that aren't really given much attention to in Danganronpa canon. I hope that I have accurately captured Mukuro's thought process and soldier-like mindset to things._

_I thought best of how much to blend Danganronpa. There are two types of English Danganronpa, the translation by the fans and the official localization. While both make it clear that Hope's Peak and the story are set in Japan, the official localization for the Vita does not have any of the Japanese honorifics that fan translation did, and I have chosen to go with a lack of honorifics because I am certain I could properly handle all the nuances and intricacies involved. However, as states, these are still Japanese students, and a level of formality and respect proper to Japanese society must be observed, so I will have the students addressing each other semi-formally by last names until close enough friendships are established to warrant a first-name basis. Hence, why Mukuro panicked at her slip of calling Naegi by his first name out of habit, having been among an mercenary group that would have either no knowledge or no use for honorifics and social structure they imply._

_I would appreciate feedback on Junko. I was torn on having her still play the perfect fashion model, but I wanted to display some of the bipolar personality that makes her such a great character. So I figure she would risk letting some of her two self show if she saw her younger sister, who she is very territorial over, being paid attention to._

_Also, some reviews in the past chapter suggested a beta reader. Indeed, I read through the previous three times before publishing, but upon another review, I have reviewed this chapter multiple times, but I have no doubt that there are some errors, so I am currently looking for a beta reader. If anyone reading would be amicable to fulfilling this position, I would be much appreciated, so feel free to send me a private message or leave some other form of contact if you don't have an account._

_I also did some research on identical twins. It is strongly implied in the Zero novel volumes that Junko's natural hair color may be red, which could explain why her hair appears to be strawberry blonde (the color a blonde die job would be with the natural color bleeding through) however that left me wondering as to how identical twins could result in different hair colors. While extremely rare, it can happen, and then environmental factors and diet can influence it. Admittedly, Mukuro could just dye her hair, and dark hair would be more beneficial on the battlefield than red hair that would stand out and be a target, but I just don't get the feeling that she would be one to dye her hair._

_And, well, this Danganronpa where the world can be destroyed from what is essentially a contagious meme, teddy bear robots more advanced than anything NASA can create are perfectly normal, and anime color hair is not outside the norm, so I'm probably sweating the issue more than is necessary. _

_Anyway, if you've read this, I reckon that I've jawed your ear off enough. Again, any feedback is appreciated._


	3. Friendship 101

It was the first official day of classes for the 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy, and Makoto Naegi had been awake for 45 minutes, ever since his alarm had abruptly torn him from what little sleep he was able to get the previous night, after laying awake in his bed for hours. The reality that he was a very tiny fish that had, by sheer luck, found its way into a vast and unknown ocean populated by sharks, had set in. Looking in the bathroom's mirror, he saw that his hair was in a state of chaotic disarray, but he knew from experience that he could only hope to tame the errant locks so much; his eyes were lightly bloodshot and the area under them were darkened from fatigue. However neither of these aspects of his appearance were the cause for him to be standing before the mirror for the last ten minutes; instead he glared balefully towards the tiled floor, watching as his fingers tripped over themselves yet again as he attempted to properly fasten his tie in an acceptable knot.

Makoto had little practice with ties in the past. His old school had indeed included one as part of the uniform, but they were much more lax in the dress code, so he preferred to simply wear his blazer over his zipped up hoodie, but he didn't dare attempt such a thing while in Hope's Peak—especially since he had been accepted due to luck, and his luck tended to be generous in its misfortunes and sparing in what blessings it offered to him. Makoto was thankful that his younger sister couldn't see his admittedly pitiful attempts at a knot; no doubt she would quickly fix it, with a roll of her eyes and a utterance upon her breath about hopeless big brothers, but it would be after she had laughed for several moments at him. His sister was always much better at these type of things than he was.

He finally succeeded in tying something that could generously be called a knot: it was vaguely triangular in its shape, though misshapen and slack in some areas. He decided that this was most likely to be the best that he was going to accomplish. Giving himself one final appraisal in the mirror, and finding no other areas of issue other than his tie, he deemed himself presentable enough for homeroom, and so set out, grabbing his backpack from the table and setting off.

He was glad that had chosen to awaken early this day, even with his lack of sleep the previous knight, as the last thing he wanted was to cast doubt on his position as a student of the school, especially with so flimsy a reason as luck being the reason he was attending in the first place.

Approaching the wooden door to his homeroom, he heard the sounds of his classmates from the other side of the wooden barrier. Pausing, he took a breath to gather his nerves, and with a palm damp with sweat, he gripped the metal handle and took his first official step into his school life in Hope's Peak.

The bell for class to start had yet to sound, nor had the teacher arrived, so the classroom was more or less in a state of minor chaos. It was comforting to Makoto to see that even "ultimate" high school students acted in a similar manner to their regular counterparts: friendships had been established based upon mutual interests and similar and/or compatible talents, and conversely, personalities clashed for the same reason.

Makoto had introduced himself to his fellow classmates yesterday during the entrance ceremony and attempted to integrate himself among these dynamos of skill that were destined to guide the world, but he wasn't certain how successful he had been in his attempts. Some of them had quite readily exchanged greetings, while others simply ignored him.

And some of them, the Ultimate Lucky Student didn't know how to describe, recalling the actions of the fashion model whom was also one of his classmates. Glancing about warily, he found her striking up a conversation with Sayaka and Leon, with the ease one would expect to come to an international teen model such as herself.

Off to the side he saw the towering behemoth of a student who was awarded the title of Ultimate Martial Artist, who he knew only to be female due to the fact that uniform seemed to be a good deal of sizes too small, and as such, stretched tightly across her bust, and that she had introduced herself to him. She had introduced herself in a polite, if formal, manner when he had spoken to her, informing him that her name was Sakura Ogami. She made a rather strange sight, he thought, with her colossal frame sitting in the seat of a desk that was so much smaller.

Next to the scarred fighter, a smaller girl made an almost comical contrast. Where Sakura projected her presence through her sheer size, but in a reserved manner, the smaller girl let the entire room know she present from sheer enthusiasm and barely repressed energy she seemed to radiate. Makoto knew of course that she was Japan's gold-medal hopeful for the next Olympic games, Aoi Asahina, the Ultimate Swimming Pro. Nonetheless, the pair seemed to have formed a classical Odd Couple-type friendship, with the smaller swimmer happily chattering away to the larger martial artist, who listened in an attentive, if silent, manner.

Unsurprisingly, Makoto spotted Mondo Owada sprawled carelessly in his desk seat, his head supported lazily in palm of his hand, paying no mind to the class's Ultimate Moral Compass, who stood out quite spectacularly with his pristine white uniform and his perfect posture that did not falter even as he boldly decried the fact that the Ultimate Bike Gang Leader forwent wearing even a single article of the official uniform, instead choosing to dress in his white wife beater and trademark jacket bearing the insignia of his gang.

Sakura was not wearing an official uniform, granted, but Makoto suspected that was more due to the fact that there were currently none tailored to fit her large frame.

Mondo, seemed to be ignoring the other man who had seemed to have appointed himself the class representative. Naegi couldn't say he was shocked that the two were already clashing heads; their very personalities and ways of life were like fire and water.

The Gothic foreigner who had been at the entrance ceremony was seated at desk next to the window, staring out it in a bored fashion. Makoto had never gotten a chance to find out her name or the talent that had landed her entrance to Hope's Peak, but the rather rotund student who was seated nearby and fervently scribbling away at a page of paper on his desk, had quite cheerfully introduced himself as Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, and then proceeded to address him as "Mr. Naegi," despite Makoto's protests that he needn't be so formal. The oldest student, the Ultimate Clairvoyant, Yasuhiro Hagakure, was steering intently into a crystal ball, trying to discern some fact from its depths, no doubt.

That only left the students who seemed to prefer solitude, and Makoto spotted Chihiro without too much difficulty. She was standing slightly away from where Kiyotaka was still lecturing Mondo on the necessity of proper dress code and representations of their new school—Mondo didn't seem to care, however. Chihiro seemed quite upset at the dispute, and appeared ready to break into tears soon if the situation was not solved.

Makoto had to restrain himself from going over and giving the small, vulnerable girl a hug. It was difficult.

The girl he knew to be the famed novelist Toko Fukawa of romance novel fame seemed to have lodged herself as far into a corner of the room that she could, sneering distastefully at everyone present from behind her round glasses, though she chewed mercilessly upon her lip and tugged fitfully at the bow of her uniform while doing it.

The lilac haired girl who was wearing expensive looking leather gloves over her hands sat in a nearby desk, her arms folded across her frame and her eyes closed, though a smirk was on her face as she listened to the noise of her fellow classmates. This strange girl was a mystery to Makoto, and he didn't suppose that she would reveal any of her secrets any time soon, either.

That left just one student remaining, and Makoto's eyes eagerly sought her out, finding her near sitting in a desk in the very back corner of the room, silently watching everyone interact with an unwavering gaze. Smiling brightly, he walked over with a spring in his step, raising a hand in greeting and calling out to his friend.

"Ah, Ms. Ikusaba!" he greeted with a large grin, causing the girl to start ever so slightly and turn to him with a confused expression, her head tilted slightly as she regarded him.

"...Makoto Naegi, correct?" she asked, wondering why the youth had approached her. Her gaze darted to where she knew her sister was, fearful that she had somehow drawn her sister's ire for some reason, but it seemed as if she was still quite happily chatting away with pop star and baseball player. Nothing was said for a long, awkward moment as she stared emotionlessly at the boy, who smiled back brightly, though the expression became more frail with each second of silence that passed. "Can I help you?" she finally asked quietly.

Makoto felt his smile deflate, and he looked at the raven haired girl in concern, fearful that he had done something to make her angry and cause her standoffish demeanor. "Um..." he chewed nervously on the inside of his lip. "N-no..." he admitted. "I just . . . well, I wanted to wish you a good morning," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ah..." she nodded her head. "Good morning, Naegi," she returned the greeting; this must be part of the standard ritual that all high school students did. She committed this fact to memory and resolved to carry out task in the future. Her obligation fulfilled, Mukuro returned to observing her sister.

Only Makoto did not leave, instead shuffling his feet restlessly and drawing attention to himself in her peripheral vision.

"Do you require something else, Naegi?" Mukuro asked, turning her attention once more towards the boy, only to reminded of a small bird by how he fidgeted nervously.

"Have I done something to upset you, Ikusaba?" he asked in a very timid voice; really his entire mannerism would have marked him as wounded prey upon the battlefield, and he would have soon been killed.

"No," she said, shaking her head curtly. "Why do you believe that?"

"Well...it's just that I thought we were friends, and that yesterday you called me Makoto, but today you aren't saying anything to me at all hardly so...have I offended you?" he asked with worry. His eyes suddenly widened dramatically and he looked towards Junko, who still seemed oblivious to their exchange. "I didn't cause a problem between you and your sister, did I?" he asked, his voice panicked at the thought of losing his only friend in his new school.

Mukuro, meanwhile, was at a loss of what to do. Friend? She had never had a friend before—besides Junko, that is. She recalled him asking her to be his friend yesterday, and her agreeing to it, but she didn't think that also meant that he considered him her friend. Did she somehow agree to a verbal contract with Makoto? She just didn't know—she had never really had a friend her age before.

In Fenrir, she had comrades, but the extent of her relationship was one born of mutual respect and the knowledge that each of them could count on the other to watch the other's back. Aside from that, she did not socialize with her fellow mercenaries, did not join in on their conversation or their card games, or even go to the local places where they might wish to purchase alcohol.

"You're...my friend?" she asked, and cursed herself for the unsure note that had slipped into her voice, and though Makoto did not seem to take note, she did; if her superior in Fenrir could witness her at this moment, she would be given a reprimand that would have her compatriots talking for a week.

"Of course I am, Ikusaba!" Makoto said, shocked at the question. "I mean, you saved my life yesterday and you agreed to be my friend didn't you?" he asked, getting the pale girl to nod her head after a second. "So of course I'm your friend!" he declared, his loud exclamation drawing the attention of their classmates.

Leon was staring at him with a thoughtful frown on his face, though internally he was making certain to get to know the smaller boy better, and perhaps ask him for some advice—he seemed to have a way with the ladies, it seemed. Celeste regarded them impassively, nothing more than a brief distraction from her boredom, however Hifumi beamed at Mr. Naegi and internally congratulated him on tripping another event flag—he was obviously pursuing the strong, silent-type girl route.

Aoi was smiling brightly at them, while Sakura seemed to have no opinion, nor did Kyoko. Sayaka stared at Makoto with a strange expression that even she herself was not certain about, though she thought she felt a slight tug in her chest at the sight of the boy she had known in middle school becoming close to another female, but she wasn't entirely sure why that was.

Yasuhiro, lacking any kind of subtlety or tact, crowed out, "I knew it! The spirits told me!" getting many strange glances from everyone. Toko smiled at the pair in a rather creepy manner, poking her fingertips together, muttering about "boldness." Togami simply turned away, muttering, "Disgusting."

And Junko—Junko was silent. Her face was expressionless as she stared at her big sister; if she had any thoughts, she wasn't sharing them.

"Most excellent, Naegi!" Kiyotaka cheered, spreading his arms wide. "Not only have you worn proper attire, but you are reaching out to your fellow classmate!" he enthused, causing everyone to stare at the spiky haired youth.

"What the fuck, man!" Mondo groused. "How the hell can that shrimp get a girl like that, and here I am stuck in losing streak," he grumbled to himself. Chihiro opened her mouth, seeming to want to say something, but thought better and shut it instead, keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Better be careful, girls!' Aoi chirped. She pointed dramatically to the Ultimate Lucky Student, "he may look harmless, but he could be a true-blue predator preying on us defenseless girls!" she exclaimed, her fists clenched in front of her face with enthusiasm.

Sakura stared at Makoto, whose face had turned a brilliant shade of crimson under the attention that was being heaped upon him. If anyone was a predator, it was the girl that Naegi was conversing with. The young woman who possessed the title of the strongest human on earth narrowed her gaze on Mukuro Ikusaba, and soon she found her gaze being met.

The two regarded each other silently, silently assessing the other and the threat that they many pose. Sakura had no illusions that the blue-eyed girl held the capacity to be dangerous: those eyes were the similar to the eyes of some of the people she had fought in the underground fighting rings she had clashed with Kenshiro in.

Mukuro Ikusaba had taken a life before, and she would not hesitate to do so again. However, Sakura did not get the feeling that the murderous lass held any ill intentions towards anyone at the moment, so all she could was wait and see.

After an eternity, the mixed marital artist offered a solemn nod that carried a dire promise to the Ultimate Solider, who understood and replied with a nod of her own. No words needed to be spoken between the two warriors who had been raised in conflict.

"I very much doubt that, Hina," Sakura rumbled, crossing her bare arms across her wide chest.

the Ultimate Swimming Pro pouted at her fellow athlete, jutting her bottom lip out cutely. "Way to ruin my fun, Sakura!" she accused.

"My apologies," the taller girl simply responded.

Before anymore could be said on the matter, the teacher for the class entered and Kiyotaka quickly called for all his classmates to take a seat and then bow to their teacher.

Makoto quickly slid into the desk next to Mukuro without any thought. The Ultimate Soldier regarded him silently for a moment before returning her attention to the day's lessons.

* * *

Nothing happened for a few hours; Makoto tried as best he could to take notes, but all the subjects were more advanced versions of what he had studied in his previous school. He guessed it made sense for such advanced subject matter to be thought to the Ultimate's of Hope's Peak Academy—each student was already the best; after they graduate it stood reason that they should also be the brightest, too.

Ikusaba did not seem to be having any trouble with the subject matter, he noticed. Throughout all the subjects, as the teachers rotated and educated them all on advanced arithmetic, literature, English, physics, biology, and more, never once did the scratch of Ikusaba's pen falter or slow as she made neat, precise strokes, filling page after page with columns of Japanese characters, in an almost mechanical clinical or mechanical fashion, completely absorbed in her task.

He glanced down at his own scrawl after having glimpsed his neighbor's neat penmanship—it could generously be called chicken scratch. He let out a sigh, causing Ikusaba's attention to momentarily flicker to him before returning to her current task. Only when the mid day's bell rang did she place her pen down upon the desk.

As the rest of her classmates left for the dining hall, Mukuro calmly flipped her notebook closed, placed it in her backpack, and got ready to leave. She immediately made note that her sister had already left. As she was almost to the door, she heard a startled cry ring out behind her, followed by a crash and a flurry of papers flying everywhere.

Turning around, she saw Naegi on the floor, sprawled out, with his backpack open, its contents spilled out over the floor and . . . was that his right shoe that was over by the window? The Ultimate Soldier tilted her head as she looked from his one sock-clad foot to the errant sneaker that had liberated itself from said foot.

"Not again..."she heard Naegi moan to himself, getting to his knees and reaching out his hand to retrieve his scattered notes. Without really knowing why, Mukuro walked over, retrieved the sneaker, and then proceeded to assist in collecting the scattered documents. Naegi looked up at her in surprise from his lower vantage point, but smiled when he gratefully took her outstretched hand of assistance in getting up and accepting his shoe shortly after. "Thank you, Ikusaba!" he said, bowing gratefully to her and offering her a smile that had her wondering for a moment whether the room actually brightened.

"You're welcome," she said softly, looking at the tiled floor of the classroom. She glanced up at Naegi, who was hopping about on one foot in what some might have considered a comical manner as he attempted to force his sneaker back on his foot. Without really thinking about it, she reached out and laid a firm hand upon his shoulder as he began to lose his balance, steadying him so that he could finish his task. She got another smile in return. "It's what friends do...isn't it?" she asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Of course!" Makoto said, and his smile seemed to get even wider—impossible though such a thing seemed. Mukuro found herself looking at the wide, sincere smile; Junko also gave such smiles, but hers were false, a little too wide and possessing none of the sincerity that Naegi was currently offering her.

It was...nice, a portion of mind thought, but the thought was quickly dismissed as needless and irrelevant to her task at the moment.

She noted that the knot of his tie would never pass regulation, and without thinking, her hands darted out impossibly quick, undoing the sloppy faux-know and quickly threading a professional basic one. She paused after she had finished the action—why had she done that? Makoto, meanwhile, though shocked at first, was greatly pleased with how considerate of a friend Ikusaba was, and he was thanking his normally rotten luck that it had seen fit to allow him to encounter her on the way to his first day in Hope's Peak.

"Ikusaba?" Naegi's voice drew the Ultimate Soldier's attention back to the here-and-now. "Can I walk with you to the dining hall?" he asked.

Mukuro stared at him. Why wouldn't he be able to do so? He didn't require her permission to walk somewhere. But she simply nodded her head. "That would be the most efficient course of action, since we are both going there," she informed him. "It is always preferable to have another person accompany you and look out for you," she recited, recalling one of the many tactics that had been drilled into her from her time In Fenrir—abridged though the lesson may be.

"It's always nice to have a friend to keep you company," Makoto agreed cheerfully; Mukuro stared at him in confusion. What did friendship have to do with covering one's blind spots and having support ready? Was this another thing about friendship she was not aware of. She thought it best to simply nod and observe. "C'mon!" he exclaimed. "Let's go!" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the stairway that would lead down towards the first floor and their destination.

The years of combat training to instinctively counter any kind of hold or grapple never surfaced, strangely.

After they had left the classroom, Naegi let go of her hand, seemingly content to walk beside her, in high spirits for some unknown reason to her. Mukuro chose to be silent the entire trip, and her "friend" did not seem to mind the silence.

She did have to stop him from falling down a flight of stairs when he seemed to trip on thin air, though.


	4. Chaos in the Café

"You're just a regular wolves in sheep's clothing, ain't ya, Makoto!"

The currently Ultimate "Unlucky" Student (in Naegi's own opinion) was staring in open shock and mortification at the fashion model in front of him. As soon as he and Mukuro had entered the cafeteria, all of his classmates had turned then attention towards the two of them. Mondo had gazed at him with a strange look of possibly admiration, and Hifumi had beamed at him and given him an enthusiastic thumbs up with a fist that was surprisingly slender, when compared to the rest of his frame.

Then Junko had come over.

Naegi imagined the sensation as if an iron ball had deposited itself in his stomach was the same sensation a school of fish experienced when they saw a shark gliding through the water towards them, teeth bared in a grin much like the Ultimate Fashionista wore.

"N-no! I... I'm not! You have it wrong!" Naegi denied, blushing to the roots of his hair as he shook his head in denial. Apparently his classmates had assumed his declaration of friendship to Mukuro to be one of more affection than it was! ("Fuckin' shrimp really is lucky" Mondo had uttered unheard, a small sense of admiration growing for the tiny sparrow-like boy.)

"I mean, wow!" Junko continued not listening to the boy's protests, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and practically curling herself around him, much to his discomfort. "First day and you're already after my beloved big sister," she said. "Not Mukuro-chan!" she chirped, directing her gaze towards her dark-haired twin, who stood at attention and directed 100% of her attention towards the blonde, "I can't afford to be an aunt just yet! Think of the scandal in the magazines!" Junko cried, looking towards the ceiling of the cafeteria. "So be sure to have protection when your with Naegi here, okay?"

Mukuro nodded her head; he always had a combat knife, at the very least, on her at all times, but if Junko wanted her to have even more protection when around Makoto, she would make sure to carry a firearm as well.

Makoto could not say anything in his defense, despite his mouth opening and closing, only issuing inarticulate noises as he attempted to somehow wrap his mind around the situation that he had found himself in.

"Do I need to watch myself, Makoto?" Junko asked, whispering breathily in his ear, that caused a shiver to run up his spine, though it was strangely one of fear rather than arousal. "I mean, we _are_ twins, after all... well, certain things are different," she admitted, slipping behind him and pressing her chest tightly against the boy's back. "They're a D-cup, if you're wondering," she confided. "And big sis is a C-cup."

Makoto didn't think it was possible for his face to become anymore red than it currently was, and his breath was beginning to come in sharp shallow gasps. Mukuro turned her attention towards him and frowned; he seemed to have entered into some form of shock, but he had not been injured from their trip from the classroom.

Leon was staring at the spectacle in shock, while Maizano was torn between sympathy and amusement. Naegi always had been such a sweet and shy boy, from what she could recall, and he really had no idea how to handle a girl like Junko when they put their mind to tormenting a person in such a way. It was slightly worrying to the idea that Naegi was now shaking very lightly; that couldn't be good.

"I see now," Hifumi said, pushing his glasses up on his nose as his breathing increased in an excited manner. "Yes! Mr. Naegi is obviously the protagonist and by the end of the school year all you girls will be in his harem!" He declared loudly, causing many of the students to stare at round student as if he was insane.

Sayaka could not handle hearing such a declaration being said with such a straight face and surrendered to the amusement she had been suppressing, collapsing onto the table in a fit of laughter. Makoto looked at the artist with plain and unmasked horror on his face, while Mukuro showed no reaction at the declaration. Was entering a harem a tradition for girls in high school? She knew that it was common for girls to fight each other for the attention of boys, at least.

A simple enough task except for Ogami and possibly Fukawa. She immediately began making plans on the most efficient way to eliminate the competition and complete the mission.

Junko gasped in shock! "He's right!" she cried. "He's after our virginity girls! First my big sis, and then he'll try to get beneath my skirt! And I can't remember if I put on panties today!" She announced in horror.

What followed next was Naegi's mind simply deciding to surrender any attempt to comprehend the situation his luck had landed him in, this time, and he finally passed out from hyperventilating for the past minute in and a half. This action had only drawn half the attention of the classmates, as the other half were watching as the girl dressed up like a gothic maid attempted to strangle Hifumi for even daring to utter such a profane declaration about her, but could not get her small, slender hands around his neck.

The rest of the students from the other years paid only a small amount of attention to the spectacle; such disruptions were common when you placed people who bore the title of Ultimate together and the resulting dynamic personalities clashed.

Mukuro kneeled down and took Makoto's pulse, feeling the strangle constricting sensation within her breast ease when she confirmed that he was still alive. How strange. Was she unwell? Effortlessly lifting the small boy up, she noted that he was indeed quite light, and wondered if perhaps his bones were hollow like a birds.

Placing him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, she turned her attention to Junko, her expression obviously wondering what she should do now.

Junko rolled her eyes. "What are you waiting for!" she said, crossing her arms. "Take your little boyfriend to the nurse, obviously!" she said.

Mukuro nodded, turned on her heel, and made her way to the infirmary with her patient. She was rather glad at hearing her sisters words: Makoto was indeed male, and Junko had confirmed that he was, in fact, her friend.

Mukuro had never had a friend before. The closet was Matsuda from when she was younger, but he had been more Junko's friend than hers.

She would have to study up on the subject of friendship if she wanted to succeed in her mission.

And harems, she need to research for the coming battle, as well.

Hifumi watched this, smiling! Mr. Makoto was a skilled player (in more ways than one!) of the game, indeed! To have tripped a relationship flag with a girl of Ms. Ikusaba's archetype and then force a event path that lead to her taking care of him-he truly was the Ultimate Luck!

He decided he probably should attempt a bit harder to stop Ms. Ludenberg from choking him-her metal talon-like ring was digging rather painfully into his neck, after all.


	5. Side Story AU: New Game Plus - 01!

"So, what happened?" Mukuro asked, watching as Kiyotaka ran from the bathing area like a bat out of hell. Makoto, truth be told, was feeling rather sheepish about the whole ordeal; so that had been what that nagging feeling of déjà vu had been about.

The Ultimate Lucky Student bit his lip and turned his attention to his departed classmate. "Uh...Well..." he began, fiddling with his hands as the Ultimate Soldier raised an unimpressed brow at his actions, making him nervous; if anyone could find a way to murder someone despite being dead, Mukuro would be the one to do it. "I sort of, kind-of may have driven Kiyotaka insane?" he ventured.

Mukuro leaned against the wall, not seeming to care about the violations of physics being committed by the wall supporting her incorporeal frame as if it wasn't. "I can see that," she said. "Why did he go Super Sayian?" she asked, referring to how his eyes blazed and his hair turned white. "Because I can tell you now: Mondo's ghost isn't haunting this school," she said.

Makoto shrugged. "No idea," he told her. "That's something I've been wondering since the previous loops."

"Weird," the ghost commented. "So, what now?" she wondered.

Makoto shrugged. "No idea. Ever since I found myself repeating the Mutual Killing Game, I can't remember anything that happens until after it happens—except getting a vague sense of déjà vu on certain things." He told his dearly not-so-departed friend; he had found himself in the rather unlucky position of repeating the murder games over and over again whenever he died or defeated Junko. The only things he remembered each time was knowing who Mukuro was instantly, and recalling Junko was the Mastermind.

It hadn't ended well the few times he had tried to expose Junko straight off the bat, either. He shivered as he remembered the wooden barrel that had been his own personal execution, and the deadly swords that had impaled it.

He was grateful, however, that Mukuro seemed to return with him, but there was a sense of randomness to her. Sometimes he would remember things too late to save her from the Spears of Gungnir, other times he would be able to save her, and they would attempt to derail her sister's plans based off of what they could remember at any given time.

Makoto was simply glad to have his dear friend back in some form, and not be alone in the insanity of the temporal shenanigans that he had the great misfortune to be caught up in.

"Let's chat in your room," Makoto suggested, fishing Mukuro's student book from his hoodie's pocket. He had taken to snagging it for his own use whenever she died. as her room lacked any kind of cameras.

Mukuro nodded. Not like she had anything better to do. "So, who dies next if you can't stop it?" she asked.

"I think Celeste . . . or Ogami?" he wondered. "Both?" he recalled this trial being special due to the number of people dead at the end, but alas, his prior knowledge eluded him.

Mukuro made a thoughtful noise. "C'mon," she said, taking his hand and dragging him along with her. It must have looked strange indeed to his still living classmates; Makoto was the only thing that Mukuro could directly affect in a physical manner. "I'm teaching you more self-defense."

Makoto sighed. He really didn't like having to explain why he had such strange bruises to Kyoko. At least Mukuro had quickly figured out how to change her own appearance, so it didn't appear as if Junko was beating him up.

* * *

_Author's Note: Hello, apologies for the wait and the fact that this isn't a chapter proper. The next chapter to the true story will be in about a week after I have had a chance to digest Danganronpa 2 and plan the elements of that game in. In the mean time, I will be writing these mini New Game + short segments starring a time-looping Makoto and Mukuro._

_ Later, I may collect these side-chapters and make them into a separate story, but I just wanted my readers to know that this isn't dead or forgotten._

_ I will admit, I simply wanted an excuse to type "I drove Kiyotaka insane and made him go Super Sayian. My bad." or have Naegi express sentiments to that effect._


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